And that’s what he needed to talk to her about. He needed to tell her everything, bring her all the way in. He needed her help. Because he was scared.
“I want to tell you what’s going on with the club. It’s big shit. Too big for me. I need you.”
She lifted their linked hands to her lips and kissed his knuckles. “I’m here. I’ll help however I can.”
“I just need some perspective. Show’s got his ideas, and I’ve got mine, but I think we’re both looking at this from too far inside.” She knew about the meth, because she’d done her own research into the club when they’d first gotten together. But now he explained why they did it. He gave her more history of the town, and then he told her about Lawrence Ellis and what it looked like he wanted in Signal Bend.
When he was done, Lilli was quiet, staring out the window into the yard. She wanted chickens, and he wondered if she was imagining them pecking around out there. Other than a few almost-feral cats who fed on mice and voles, he hadn’t had animals on the property since he’d taken it over. But Lilli, who’d never had even a goldfish, was discovering an affinity for animals. Isaac was pretty sure one of the mousers was knocked up, and he feared the house would soon be overrun with kittens. She wanted the chickens, too, and a dog. She wanted horses. She showed no signs of being satisfied with all that, either. He’d resisted at first, a knee-jerk reaction, because he hadn’t wanted to be pinned down by the responsibility animals presented. But that’s what making a home was—setting in stakes. He wanted that now.
And he’d loved to ride horseback. Almost as much fun as a Harley. He wanted to get her a bike of her own, too, though he sure did love having her behind him on his.
For several thoughtful moments, Lilli stroked the long, pink scar on the right side of her neck. It was a habit she’d picked up; Isaac wasn’t sure she even knew she did it, but he noticed every time. She turned back to him. “What happens if Ellis wins?”
Isaac had thought about that a lot, so he had a ready answer. “He builds a full-scale factory in Will Keller’s woods, takes over the meth production, and turns Signal Bend into the worst kind of company town. Northsiders crush the Horde, kill us all, take over the streets. The good people who’ve been hanging on finally give up and leave. The ones who survive and stay are either cooking or tweaking. Probably both. Ellis takes over the meth pipeline throughout the Midwest. The people trying to control it, be sane about it, get flattened.”
She nodded slowly, considering what he’d said. “I’m going to say this, and I want you to hear it for what it is, okay? Don’t get defensive.” Isaac nodded, knowing that whatever she said, it would be thoughtful. “Meth is nasty shit. Is there a way for you to just get out of it? For the whole town to?”
“I wish there was. I hate it. That’s why we won’t have it in town. We push it through to the cities, let them deal with it.” He really did hate it. He rubbed his hand over his beard in frustration. “There’s nothing else bringing real money in. That nasty shit keeps Tuck’s place open, and Marie’s and every other business in town. The money the cookers and the Horde bring in is all that’s keeping the lights on. The Horde has no love for the law, but this isn’t the kind of shit we’d be doing if we had a choice. Best we can do is move it out of town, keep our people straight.”
She took that at face value and didn’t push him further. He loved her even more for that. She didn’t make judgments; she made observations. She didn’t make pronouncements; she asked questions. “Okay. Say you win. What prevents Ellis from doing the same thing fifty miles down the road and crushing you anyway?”
“He’s gunning for us partly because the Northsiders beef with us, and they put him on our scent. But Signal Bend is in a special situation. We’re a good distance from the highway, and we are very remote from the nearest police station. Hell, we’re just remote. Nobody even passes through Signal Bend to get somewhere else.” He laughed bitterly. “It’s a fuckin’ brilliant move. We are uniquely qualified for less-than-legal activities. And Will’s property has unique qualifications of its own. Anyway, fifty miles in either direction is still Horde turf. We run the whole corridor, St. Louis to Tulsa. We’d have to fight him at any point.”
“Doesn’t seem like the Horde is big enough to manage so much.”
Isaac nodded. Indeed. This shit was too big for the Horde, too big for him. “And there we have our problem. We’re not. When things are smooth, it’s not a big deal. But we’re not strong enough to take on a guy with this kind of reach. We have friends who can help us, but they have their own issues. We’ll get some manpower, and we got some guns at a discount, but the favors I’m calling in aren’t going as far as they need to.” The problem explained, Isaac leaned in, taking Lilli’s ponytail in his hand and sifting it through his fingers. “Any ideas, soldier girl?”
She barely hesitated before she nodded and said, “Yeah. You need to flank this guy. You can’t beat him head on. You’re asking for the wrong kind of favors. The guns are good, for the patrols you’re doing. But a shootout on Main Street is just going to blow up Main Street. I’m going to get in touch with Rick. Maybe my team broke up too fast.”
She was giving him an answer he hadn’t expected. She was pulling herself into the fight. His first inclination was to reject that, but he realized—she was skilled, smart, and experienced. She was more of all of that than he was. He needed more than her opinion. He needed her. “What do you mean?”
“You have no idea the kind of damage a top-shelf hacker can do. The best can rewrite history. Rick is the best. If he’s game—and he will be; he loves this shit—I’ll hook him up with Bart. Bart’s good, but he hasn’t been playing in the majors.”
Another answer he hadn’t expected, one that went against Isaac’s very DNA. “What—you’re saying we bring Ellis down with the internet?”
She smiled, apparently hearing the disappointment in his voice. “What, you thought I was going to fly a Black Hawk in over his house, blow it up? No. I’m saying you can certainly weaken him or at least find out where he’s weak that way. If he’s a big enough player, that works against him, because too many people have dealt with him. He’s known. No matter how well he shields himself, every person with an insight is a little dent. This is where being small works in your favor. Flank him. He won’t see you coming.”
She was making sense, and Isaac wanted the others to hear it. “I want us to sit down with Show, Len, and Bart.”
“Good. I want to work out at the clubhouse, anyway.”
He laughed at the matter-of-fact way she’d changed the subject. Very little got her rattled. “You sure you’re ready for weights?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes. Yes. I have a brace for my hand. I’m ready. And I want to go at the bag, too. Enough of this sitting around getting flabby shit. Let me get Rick in on this Ellis thing, though, before we say anything.”
For the first time since Kenyon Berry told him how big a threat Ellis was, Isaac felt a small hope that they’d be able to save the town. “I love you, Sport. I want to put my ring on you. I want to put my ink on you. I want to make a baby with you.”
She got serious at that, quickly. He knew he pushed it any time he brought up a baby. She’d never thought about kids before, and she’d told him she needed time. He understood, and he would wait, but he wanted it. She grabbed his chin and looked pointedly at him, her grey eyes flashing. “You need to slow down, love. I’m feeling my way here.”
He wrapped her hand in his and kissed it. “I know. I’m just puttin’ my pieces on the board. Play your gambit.”
“Your chess metaphors elude me sometimes. You know I don’t know how to play.”
“I’ll teach you. You’ve definitely got the head for it.” He grabbed her legs and pulled her flat on the sofa, lying over her. “But right now, I gotta say, I’m more interested in the rest of you.”
THE END
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Move the Sun (Signal Bend Series) Page 27
